After suffering a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on their home court, the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Toronto Raptors next. With a 10-13 record for the season, the Lakers are looking to move up the ladder on this six-game road trip. The loss handed by the Cavs did not help their chances of going up against the Raptors, given how short-handed the team was tonight. 

LeBron James and Anthony Davis were both ruled out of the starting lineup by the front office. No actual reason was given for the two stars missing the game. This likely means they did not suit up for the game due to load management.  

Another injury blow hits LeBron James and the Lakers

And as much as that is needed, the Lakers were arguably in no condition to compete without their two leading scorers. While the team has Russell Westbrook on their roster, he is arguably in no shape or form to lead the team in scoring. 

On top of that, since LeBron James and Anthony Davis were out, there were two opening spots on the starting lineup. And yet Westbrook was brought off the bench by head coach Darvin Ham. And if all this were not enough, the Los Angeles Lakers ended up suffering another injury.

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During the game, Juan Toscano-Anderson ended up hurting his ankle on a play. It looked like he was grabbing his ankle as he went down. Toscano-Anderson was putting absolutely no weight on his ankle as he was carried to the back for a closer look. 

Post-game, coach Darvin Ham gave an update regarding Toscano-Anderson’s injury, saying he will undergo an MRI scan on his right ankle. Coach Ham genuinely seemed disappointed as this was possibly the time that he could’ve played more minutes on the court, but injury robbed him of that opportunity.

Now, with another player out of the starting lineup, Westbrook may now return to the starting lineup.

Russell Westbrook still came off the bench

Westbrook arguably had an average game in their 116-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He scored 16 points with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks for the game. All while he was shooting 6-13 from the field. 

And though Russell Westbrook has the tendency to go off at certain moments, the game against the Raptors wasn’t one of them. Plus, it wasn’t just from the scoring standpoint for Westbrook or the Lakers. The Toronto Raptors were just too much to handle for an underhanded Lakers team. 

The Raptors had three starters cross the 20-point mark by the start of the fourth quarter. Whereas, for the Lakers, Dennis Schroeder was leading the team in scoring with 18 points going into the fourth. But unfortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers ended up losing the game 113-126. 

Lakers fans will hope their stars can return soon as the franchise continues its push toward a playoff spot.